Search for pairs of isolated radio pulsars—Components in disrupted binary systems

We have developed a method for analyzing the kinematic association of isolated relativistic objects-possible remnants of disrupted close binary systems. We investigate pairs of fairly young radio pulsars with known proper motions and estimated distances (dispersion measures) that are spaced no more than 2–3 kpc apart. Using a specified radial velocity distribution for these objects, we have constructed 100–300 thousand trajectories of their possible motion in the Galactic gravitational field on a time scale of several million years. The probabilities of their close encounters at epochs consistent with the age of the younger pulsar in the pair are analyzed. When these probabilities exceed considerably their reference values obtained by assuming a purely random encounter between the pulsars under consideration, we conclude that the objects may have been gravitationally bound in the past. As a result, we have detected six pulsar pairs (J0543+2329/J0528+2200, J1453-6413/J1430-6623, J2354+6155/J2321+6024, J1915+1009/J1909+1102, J1832-0827/J1836-1008, and J1917+1353/J1926+1648) that are companions in disrupted binary systems with a high probability. Estimates of their kinematic ages and velocities at binary disruption and at the present epoch are provided.     

The existence of a ‘gap’ in the evolutionary sequence of pulsars

A replot of period derivative against period is done for about 300 pulsars, and the main features of the plot are discussed. The significance of a gap in this plot is reexamined and the existence of pulsars with nulling and subpulse drifting behaviour below this gap is pointed out. The implications of this for pulsar evolution are also discussed.     

Gravitomagnetism: a novel explanation of the precession of planets and binary pulsars

We continue former work on the modeling of potential effects of Gamma Ray Bursts on Phanerozoic Earth. We focus on global biospheric effects of ozone depletion and model the spectral reduction of light by NO₂ formed in the stratosphere. We also illustrate the current complexities involved in the prediction of how terrestrial ecosystems would respond to this kind of burst. We conclude that more biological field and laboratory data are needed to reach even moderate accuracy in this modeling.     

X-ray-luminous radio supernovae in the centre of M82?

We investigate the X-ray emission from the central regions of the prototypical starburst galaxy M82. Previous observations have shown a bright central X-ray point source, with suggestions as to its nature including a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus or an X-ray binary. A new analysis of ROSAT HRI observations finds four X-ray point sources in the central kiloparsec of M82, and we identify radio counterparts for the two brightest X-ray sources. The counterparts are probably young radio supernovae (SNe) and are amongst the most luminous and youthful SNe in M82. We therefore suggest that we are seeing X-ray emission from young SNe in M82, and in particular that the brightest X-ray source is associated with the radio source 41.95+57.5. We discuss the implications of these observations for the evolution of X-ray-luminous SNe.     

The effect of two-temperature post-shock accretion flow on the linear polarization pulse in magnetic cataclysmic variables

The temperatures of electrons and ions in the post-shock accretion region of a magnetic cataclysmic variable (mCV) will be equal at sufficiently high mass flow rates or for sufficiently weak magnetic fields. At lower mass flow rates or in stronger magnetic fields, efficient cyclotron cooling will cool the electrons faster than the electrons can cool the ions and a two-temperature flow will result. Here we investigate the differences in polarized radiation expected from mCV post-shock accretion columns modeled with one- and two-temperature hydrodynamics. In an mCV model with one accretion region, a magnetic field ?30 MG and a specific mass flow rate of ～0.5 g?cm^?2?s^?1, along with a relatively generic geometric orientation of the system, we find that in the ultraviolet either a single linear polarization pulse per binary orbit or two pulses per binary orbit can be expected, depending on the accretion column hydrodynamic structure (one- or two-temperature) modeled. Under conditions where the physical flow is two-temperature, one pulse per orbit is predicted from a single accretion region where a one-temperature model predicts two pulses. The intensity light curves show similar pulse behavior but there is very little difference between the circular polarization predictions of one- and two-temperature models. Such discrepancies indicate that it is important to model some aspect of two-temperature flow in indirect imaging procedures, like Stokes imaging, especially at the edges of extended accretion regions, were the specific mass flow is low, and especially for ultraviolet data.     

Search for radio transients and recent detection of radio sources in the RATAN-600 surveys of 1980–1994

In the paper we present the results of search for transient sources using the data from the surveys conducted onRATAN-600 at 7.6 cmin the time period of 1980–1994.We detected three events at a level of 3–5σ. A search for coincidenceswith detected transient events was carried out. Using the data from radio and optical surveys and the VizieR, SIMBAD, and NED databases, we made assumptions on the possible nature of these events. The first transient is probably associated with AGN activity, the second—with a cataclysmic GRB event or with a supernova, the origin of the third is not determined. The inference on the possibility of search for variable sources and transients using the data from the RATAN-600 blind surveys was drawn. Searching for transients, we have found twenty-two radio sources which are associated with the NVSS objects but are not included in the RCR catalog. Three of them turned out to be presumably variable.     

The mean transmission of the neutral intergalactic medium in the LYα -line from a sample of high-resolution quasar spectra

We present our measurements of the mean transmission \(\overline F \left( z \right)\) of the neutral intergalactic medium in the Lyα line. For this purpose we used the sample of 33 high-resolution (R = 5300…45 000) spectra selected from the public available archive of the European Southern Observatory with the help of the Virtual Observatory tools. For continuum determination in each spectra the points with maximum flux in Lyα-forest region were selected and fitted by spline. The obtained values of the mean transmission \(\overline F \left( z \right)\) was fitted by power-law τ_eff = α(1 + z)^β, where α = (4.4 _?0.2 ^+4.4 )× 10^–3, β = 3.278 _?0.054 ^+0.083 for averaging of the F(z) over the redshift bins Δz = 0.1 and α = (10.6 _?1.0 ^+1.1 )× 10^–3, β = 2.685 _?0.071 ^+0.081 for averaging over each quasar. The results were compared with those ones from previous studies of high- and low-resolution quasar spectra.     

Can the known millisecond pulsars help in the detection of intermediate-mass black holes at the centers of globular clusters?

We consider the possibility of detecting intermediate-mass (10³–10⁴ M _⊙) black holes, whose existence at the centers of globular clusters is expected from optical and infrared observations, using precise pulse arrival timing for the millisecond pulsars in globular clusters known to date. For some of these pulsars closest to the cluster centers, we have calculated the expected delay times of pulses as they pass in the gravitational field of the central black hole. The detection of such a time delay by currently available instruments for the known pulsars is shown to be impossible at a black hole mass of 10³ M _⊙ and very problematic at a black hole mass of 10⁴ M _⊙. In addition, the signal delay will have a negligible effect on the pulsar periods and their first derivatives compared to the current accuracy of their measurements.     

Computation of the polarization characteristics of RATAN-600 in the “Southern sector with a flat reflector” mode with the diffraction effects considered

We report the Mueller matrix elements for RATAN-600 computed with the allowance for the diffraction effects in the space between the main, secondary, and flat mirrors in the Souther sector with a flat reflector (“South+flat”) observing mode and in the mode of single-sector observations at the horizon throughout the entire operating wavelength range. We show that the vertical size of the M ₄₁ and M ₃₂ elements decreases, the elements shift relative to the central horizontal section, and the lobe structure of the elements changes with increasing wavelength. In the “South+flat’ mode these changes, which are due to diffraction effects, begin to show up at shorter wavelength compared to the single-sector mode. We investigated the variation of the structure of the elements M ₄₁ and M ₃₂ with the elevation angle of the flat reflector and in the case of longitudinal and transversal off-focus offsets of the primary feed.     

Observations of the limb effect in potassium λ7699

Center-to-limb observations of the Ki 7699 line made on 30 days over a five-year period using the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at Kitt Peak are presented. Both a relative and absolute limb effect have been derived from the data. Our determination of the limb effect in Ki 7699 shows a linear increase to the limb amounting to about 40 m s^–1.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.     

Instability of the cometary plasma tail—the instability in a plasma sheet

We consider the instability of the cometary plasma tail which is composed of a neutral sheet,two lobes of the ion tail and solar wind.The plasma is assumed to be highly conductive and incompressible.The unstable state yields a magnetic field which is perpendicular to the tail axis.Our result is consistent with findings about plasma from the International Cometary Explorer(ICE).     

Detection of a high-confidence quasi-periodic oscillation in radio light curve of the high redshift FSRQ PKS J0805–0111

In this work,we have searched for quasi-periodic oscillations(QPOs)in the 15 GHz light curve of the FSRQ PKS J0805-0111 monitored by the Owens Valley Radio Observatory(OVRO)40 m telescope during the period from 2008 January 9 to 2019 May 9,using the weighted wavelet Z-transform(WWZ)and the Lomb-Scargle Periodogram(LSP)techniques.This is the first time to search for a periodic radio signal in the FSRQ PKS J0805-0111 by these two methods.Both methods consistently reveal a repeating signal with a periodicity of 3.38±0.8 yr(>99.7%confidence level).In order to determine the significance of the periods,the false alarm probability method was applied,and a large number of Monte Carlo simulations were performed.As possible explanations,we discuss a number of scenarios including the thermal instability of thin disks scenario,the spiral jet scenario and the binary supermassive black hole scenario.We expect that the binary black hole scenario,where the QPO is caused by the precession of binary black holes,is the most likely explanation.FSRQ PKS J0805-0111 thus could be a good binary black hole candidate.In the binary black hole scenario,the distance between the primary black hole and the secondary black hole is about 1.71×10¹⁶ cm.     

Opacity effects on the polarization of line emissions in astrophysical plasmas

Polarization-based line spectroscopy is a valuable tool in determining the characteristics of electron distribution functions in anisotropic plasmas. For instance, directional electrons can unevenly populate the magnetic sublevels of atomic energy levels resulting in partial polarization of the emitted spectral lines. The large dimensions of astrophysical sources raise the possibility of non-negligible self-absorption effects on spectral line properties. Alternatively, the high densities characteristic of laser-produced laboratory plasmas can also result in substantial optical depth values. We present a modeling study of He-like Fe line emissions in which we investigate the effects of radiation transport on the polarization of selected spectral lines under corona conditions.     

Possible radio precursors/signatures of the CMEs onset:radio type Ⅲ bursts and fine structures in the centimeter-metric wavelength region

Seventy-one occurrences of coronal mass ejections(CMEs) associated with radio bursts,seemingly associated with type Ⅲ bursts/fine structures(FSs),in the centimeter-metric frequency range during 2003-2005,were obtained with the spectrometers at the National Astronomical Observatories,Chinese Academy of Sciences(NAOC) and the Culgoora radio spectrometer and are presented.The statistical results of 68 out of 71 events associated with the radio type III bursts or FSs during the initiation or early stages of the...     

Shock ionization of line-emitting gas in the radio galaxy PKS 0349−27

The FR II radio galaxy PKS 0349−27 contains a luminous emission-line nebula, extending over several tens of kpc around its host galaxy. We investigate the spatial distribution of the kinematics, line ratios and total emission-line flux of the gas by means of a detailed series of long-slit spectra that cover its entire extent. We show that the physical properties of the line-emitting gas, in particular its ionization properties, excitation state, dynamics and energetics, suggest a scenario involving auto-ionizing shocks as the dominant ionization mechanism.     

Simultaneous measurements of the polarization in Hα and D3 prominence emissions

Simultaneous observations of the polarization of radiations H and D₃ have been performed in 1979 at Pic du Midi on 60 solar prominences (300 pairs of measurements). For the essential part of the sample, the degree of polarization p(D₃) does not depend strongly upon the intensity E(D₃); on the contrary p(H) decreases steeply when E(H) goes beyond the brightness which corresponds to (H) = 1 (Figure 4); the deviation of the polarization direction (H) does not show such a strong dependance upon E(H) (Figure 6). A crude estimate of the possible role of multiple scattering in an optically thick prominence is in general agreement with observational data but a detailed comparison will be possible only when a complete theory of the Hanle effect in non optically thin layers will be available.Therefore, H polarization measurements are presently useful mainly when (H) < 1 and, in connexion with D₃ measurements (Figure 8), they should make possible to determine the three components of the prominence magnetic vector. Prospects are given for the observation of other lines (H; 10 830 Å) which do not suffer heavy self-absorption effects and would be well-suited to this type of study.     

Analysis of the intensities and profiles of the spectral line Mg xii 8.42 Å in the solar X-ray spectrum

High resolution profiles of the Mg xii 8.42 Å line in the solar X-ray spectrum were recorded from the Intercosmos 7 satellite. The Mg xii line intensity provides a sensitive indicator of the hot plasma content (T ? 3 × 10⁶ K) in coronal condensations and X-ray flare volumes. The ratio of the line intensity to the intensity of the adjacent continuum has been used to compute approximate thermal models of the emitting regions. For all the investigated coronal condensations the temperature distribution of plasma has been found to be a function monotonically decreasing with temperature. But for some X-ray bursts there occurred a distinct excess of the hot plasma of temperature between 6–10 × 10⁶K. FWHM values of the Mg xii line profiles have been used to estimate ion temperature in the emitting regions.     

The relationship between the radio core-dominance parameter and spectral index in different classes of extragalactic radio sources(Ⅱ)

Active galactic nuclei(AGNs) can be divided into two major classes, namely radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs. A small subset of the radio-loud AGNs is called blazars, which are believed to be unified with Fanaroff-Riley type Ⅰ/Ⅱ(FRI/Ⅱ) radio galaxies. Following our previous work(Fan et al.), we present a sample of 2400 sources with measured radio flux densities of the core and extended components. The sample contains 250 BL Lacs, 520 quasars, 175 Seyferts, 1178 galaxies, 153 FRI or FRⅡ galaxies and 104 unidentified sources. We then calculate the radio core-dominance parameters and spectral indices, and study their relationship. Our analysis shows that the core-dominance parameters and spectral indices are quite different for different types of sources. We also confirm that the correlation between core-dominance parameter and spectral index exists for a large sample presented in this work.